1847-C Half Eagle - 1847-C $5 NGC XF45 CAC. Extremely clean fields characterize this Southern branch mint 1847-C Half Eagle. Some original mint luster still remains within its devices. The strike was strong on the obverse with full details remaining on the centers of the stars. For the grade, the surfaces show few abrasion marks or other distractions and are completely original. The CAC sticker tells us that the coin is a premium quality piece that fully merits the grade assigned. 

When Mint Engraver William Kneass was unable to resume his duties after a debilitating stroke, Christian Gobrecht was asked to do his work, which included making a new half eagle that would be uniform with the eagle. The Liberty Head half eagle with no motto was minted from 1839 to 1866.

Gobrechts design shows a left facing profile of Liberty wearing a LIBERTY inscribed coronet. Her hair is tied in the back and there are two loose curls that hang down her neck. Around the head are thirteen six-pointed stars, and the date is below the truncation. At the periphery of the coin are dentils. The coin also has a reeded edge. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle similar to the one on the Classic Head half eagle except that the eagle is smaller and its neck is not bent so aggressively. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the eagle, except for its wing tips, in an arc. The denomination is below, separated with dots, and written as FIVE D.

In the 1790s gold was accidentally discovered in North Carolina. The first United States Gold Rush took place in the early 1800s in North Carolina and Georgia. In the area around Charlotte, North Carolina almost 100 gold mines were in operation. Second only to farming, prospecting for gold became the main source of employment in North Carolina. The most gold produced in the United States came from North Carolina until 1848, when it was discovered in California.

The gold that was produced at Charlotte had to be refined and standardized so it would have commercial value. Private mints like the Bechtlers and Templeton Reids opened to assay the new gold and convert it to coinage. In order to standardize this coinage and because transportation to Philadelphia was so poor as a result of bandits, unfriendly Indians, and poor roads, a branch mint in Charlotte was opened in 1836.

In its population report, as of July 2013, CAC shows 6 1847-C Half Eagles confirmed in XF45 condition with 9 higher.